| No. 26, 25, 6 | |||||||||||||
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| Position | Running back | ||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||
| Born | (1964-10-14)October 14, 1964 (age 61) Bethesda, Maryland, U.S. | ||||||||||||
| Listed height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) | ||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 184 lb (83 kg) | ||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||
| High school | Winston Churchill(Potomac, Maryland) | ||||||||||||
| College | Temple | ||||||||||||
| NFL draft | 1987: 1st round, 19th overall pick | ||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||
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* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||
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Paul Woodrow Palmer (born October 14, 1964) is an American former professionalfootballrunning back in theNational Football League (NFL) for theKansas City Chiefs,Detroit Lions andDallas Cowboys. He also was a member of theBarcelona Dragons in theWorld League of American Football (WLAF). He playedcollege football for theTemple Owls.
Palmer attendedChurchill High School inPotomac, Maryland. He was a versatilerunning back and led the state in kickoff returns as a senior.[2]
Paul accepted a football scholarship fromTemple University, to play under head coachBruce Arians. As a freshman he was a backup that struggled with ball security. He registered 141 carries for 628 yards (4.5-yard average), 6 rushingtouchdowns, 33 receptions for 271 yards and 2touchdowns.[3]
As a sophomore, Palmer replaced the injured starter Brian Slade atrunning back againstBoston College, making 11 carries for 98 yards. The next game against theUniversity of Cincinnati, he registered 92 rushing yards. His first start came against theUniversity of Delaware, collecting 144 rushing yards. He posted 182 carries for 885 yards (4.9/yard average), 9touchdowns, 29 receptions for 197 yards and onetouchdown.
As a junior, he became one of the toprunning backs in the nation, recording 275 carries for 1,516 yards, 9touchdowns, 13 receptions for 131 yards and onetouchdown. AgainstPenn State, he rushed for 206 yards.
As a senior in 1986, Palmer led theDivision I in rushing yards (1,866) and all-purpose yards (2,633), breakingMarcus Allen's single-season all-purpose yardageNCAA record. He also registered 346 carries and 15touchdowns. AgainstEast Carolina University, he tallied 349 rushing yards (school record), 3touchdowns and tied the single-game record for all-purpose yards with 417. In his next three games he rushed for 239, 187, and 212 yards respectively, settingNCAA records for rushing yards in consecutive games, three straight contests and four consecutive games. Paul was the runner-up toVinny Testaverde for the 1986Heisman Trophy award, even though Temple did not have nationally televised games.
In July 1988, it emerged that Palmer had signed with agent Norby Walters before his eligibility expired (he received monthly payments and a $5,000 loan). Temple forfeited all six of its wins from the 1986 season, erased all of Palmer's records from the books, and withdrew all of Palmer's athletic prizes and rewards. School presidentPeter Liacouras also ordered Palmer to reimburse Temple for his senior year scholarship. In a deal with federal prosecutors who were investigating Walters, Palmer agreed to perform 150 to 250 hours of community service.[4] Years later, the school decided to recognize Palmer’s 1986 season, after he showed remorse for his decisions and their effects on Temple.
During Palmers college career he ranked sixth inNCAA Division I history in rushing yards and fourth in all-purpose yards, setting 23 school records including career rushing yards (4,895), career rushing attempts (944), career all-purpose yards (6,613), career rushing touchdowns (39), career 100-yard games (21), career 200-yard games (6) and points (264).[5]
In 2000, Palmer was inducted into the Temple Athletics Hall of Fame. On January 8, 2018, he was elected to theCollege Football Hall of Fame, becoming the first player from Temple to receive such an honor.[3][6]
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 ft9+1⁄4 in (1.76 m) | 184 lb (83 kg) | 29+3⁄4 in (0.76 m) | 9+3⁄4 in (0.25 m) | 4.53 s | 1.57 s | 2.63 s | 4.22 s | 30.0 in (0.76 m) | 9 ft 8 in (2.95 m) | 11 reps | ||
| All values from NFL Combine[7] | ||||||||||||
Palmer was selected by theKansas City Chiefs in the first round (19th overall) of the1987 NFL draft.[8] His great-grandmother Frances Palmer who raised him since he was 2 years old, died the day he was drafted and Paul chose to spend the day with his family. As a rookie, Palmer was mostly used onspecial teams, leading theAFC in kickoff return average (24.3 yards per attempt). He was named to theNFL's All-Rookie Team, and was named NFL All-Pro as a kick returner.
In1988, through the first six weeks Paul led the team in rushing, receiving, scoring and combined yards from scrimmage. He would later have clashes with the coaching staff and not be able to take over the startingrunning back position fromChristian Okoye. On September 4,1989, Palmer was waived by new head coachMarty Schottenheimer.[9] He rushed for 607 yards in two seasons.
On September 5,1989, Palmer was claimed off waivers by theDetroit Lions, reuniting withFrank Gansz who was his head coach with the Chiefs.[10] On October 16, after five games without a single rushing attempt and 11 kickoff returns for 255 yards, he was traded to theDallas Cowboys, in exchange for an eighth round draft choice (#194-Willie Green).[11]
In1989, he became the startingrunning back afterHerschel Walker was traded to theMinnesota Vikings. Palmer led the Cowboys with 446 yards on 112 carries during 9 games, on a team that would finish with a 1–15 record for the1989 season, and that had the second lowest 16-game rushing total in franchise history (after the2012 season), withquarterbackTroy Aikman as the team's second-leading rusher with 302 yards. Palmer played a key role in the only win the team had that season (against Washington), when Paul registered the only 100-yard rushing game of his career, after gaining 110 yards and scoring atouchdown.[12]
On March 30,1990, theCincinnati Bengals signed him inPlan B free agency. Palmer led the team in kickoff return yardage during the preseason (5 kick returns for an average of 23 yards, including a 49-yarder against Atlanta). He was released on August 20.[13]
In1991, he was drafted by theBarcelona Dragons of theWorld League of American Football. During the first 4 games Palmer was the league's second leading rusher, but a hamstring injury limited him to just 39 yards the rest of the season. He finished as the team's second leading-rusher behind Jim Bell, recording 358 yards and 3touchdowns.[14]
On June 27,1991, Paul was signed as afree agent by thePhiladelphia Eagles.[15] He was released on August 5.[16]
In1992, Palmer finished his professional career in theWorld League of American Football with theBarcelona Dragons. He was the Dragons starting running back, tallying 259 total rushing yards.
Palmer spent 12 seasons as an assistant football coach atHaddon Heights High School. He is currently a radio analyst for Temple football games.